hackSETUP
by Taod-NynE
Summary: Xreser meets a rather...flamboyant TwinBlade, and a WaveMaster who should have Heavy Metal music playing whenever he performs any sort of action. Chapter 9 coming soon.
1. The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Raindrops the size of quaters pounded the window panes of his house, as numerous as the ants crawling around inside of the Earth. A fork of lightening illuminated the already lit house even more so then before, a loud rumble of thunder causing the group of friends to twitch, each one startled, each one to proud to actually show their surprise.  
  
It was Ericks birthday today, the twenty-eighth of July, and he had planned to take his brand new car that he recieved from his parents out for a test drive, his friends included...all until all of the non-commercial vehicles had been called off the road. Erick, Daniel, Tony, and Douglas shuffled back inside, the only light at the end of the tunnel being that Erick still had presents from his friends to open. Well, it was a light for him...for the remainder of them, it was still dark.  
  
Daniel cracked his knuckles and ran his hand through his shoulder length hair, his slight facial stubble making him look older that his real age, which was a few weeks away from being sixteen. Wearing baggy khaki pants and a hunter green button down shirt, he wasn't all that fancy. It didn't matter to him though, for in a span of a few more weeks after his birthday, would be the one year anniversary with him and his girlfriend Stephanie, and she liked the way he looked, so that was all that DID matter. Tony glanced at the gifts for a moment, his eyes gleaming because of his small framed glasses. He always called himself fat, though everyone else just shook their heads, saying such lines as, "Compared to most Italians...your skinny", or , "Shut the hell up...your not fat dumbass". Maybe his brother was to blame, for he degraded Tony at all possible times. Shifting on his feet, he situated his dark blue shirt with a humerous cartoon only avid video game players would unstand, emblazened on the chest.  
  
Douglas, the comidical one, bounced into the room, his trademark red and grey hooded sweat shirt STILL on. He always wore that sweater, even in weather that made his hair plaster to his head with sweat. No one really knew why, and most gave up on trying to. Sighing, Erick pushed up his small framed glasses, his dark green eyes flecked with blue and a light brown, marking him out of place, as well as his friends, in this new place most people called, "Neo Japan".  
  
Ericks parents, as well as all of his friends', moved across the world in search of better jobs, after the economical decline in the US, which was partially due to the computer virus called Pluto's Kiss...which of course, caused a large amount of trouble.  
  
"Im itching to play my damn game...", groaned Tony, obviously speaking of, "The World", this plantets most popular game of all time.  
  
Played on the computer, the user would wear a pair of special goggles, more like a headset that the said name, and gloves, which sent wires to be clipped on certain parts of the users body. When accessed, the player would find himself in a virtual world so real, that it was almost as if the digital reality was truely, "The World", and reality was the game. Over half the population of the true world played this game..  
  
Erick sighed...All of his friends played the game, each one vowing to not enlighten the others on who they were in the world. It was another life to them, one which Erick wasnt included in due to the fact that he did not own the game. Well, saying that none of them knew each other wasn't completely true, what with Daniel being a rather popular 'hacker' known as Atlas NynE. He of course, knew who all of them were in "The World", and they knew him...but that was all. Tony cleared his throat at Ericks expression, and motioned to the table with his eyes.  
  
"Well, open your presents bitch, I'm hungry and you need to start cooking me dinner", said Daniel with a wry smirk. Erick grinned slightly, a shook his head in reply as he picked up the nearest box. Slowly tearing off the paper to mock both Tony and Daniel, a plane cardboard box was revealed. Raising an eyebrow, he peered inside.  
  
Inside, lay a set of five small compact dics, smaller then the old audio CD's that his parents fondly listened to when nostalgia kicked in. Each one of those five discs had a differant, breath taking digital landscape painted on its surface, golden letters reading, "The World" on each one. With shaking arms, he enveloped all of his attending friends in a bear like hug, muttering constantly, "Awesome...awesome..."   
  
Once his friends were realeased, he opened the other boxes to find the needed equipment to play "The World", and a disc that Daniel grinned at and said, "I'll show you how to use that later...".  
  
After eating some cake and ice cream, still tradition, even in Japan, everyone said their goodbyes, donned some sort of waterproof clothing, and ran down the street to their perspective houses. Even with the "waterproof" jackets, they were still soaked after a few miserable seconds...good thing they lived only a block or two away.   
  
Since all of the non-commercial vehicles had been recalled off the roads, he would have the whole night to himself....So, taking the boxes containing his gifts upstairs, he stationed himself in front of his computer.   
  
Inserting all five of the dics into their said drives, the program self-activated, causing the monitor to shift to blackness...a simple sentence on the screen reading, "Insert glove and goggle plugs". And he did so, donning the headseat soon after he slid on the gloves. Maybe when he read that message, he should have turned his back, maybe the events that would unfold this very night would have never happened...then again, maybe Erick's life would have had no meaning... 


	2. The Beggining

His vision was black all except for one thing...a blinking cursor following the words, "ENTER ACCOUNT NAME:" Raising an eyebrow, he visualized his keyboard, typing in the letters, "Xreser. No sooner had he typed that in, and "pushed" Enter, a second prompt appeared below the first, this one reading, "ENTER PLAYER NAME:" Again, he typed in, "Xreser".   
  
A few moments later, a bright red light burned into his eyes, making him wish he could just mask them from the horrendous light, but right when he was about to actually do that, the light disappeared, and his eyes felt completely normal. He could not help but suspect that the color of his hunter green pools would now be a singed black...but the sight in front of his eyes changed his thought process.  
  
A man with choppy hair, a hard raven hued black that fell over cold grey eyes appeared. He was wearing a black cloth like covering over his entire body, though his left arm, right shoulder, and both legs and feet was covered in a simple metal that wasn't as glossy as silver, but not as plane as tin. He knew he would not figure out what it was, so he moved on. His grey, serpent like eyes stayed locked in front of him, strange ebony tatoos decorating the pale flesh underneath those haunting orbs, swirling to underneath his ear lobe's. As he followed the markings, Erick spotted what appeared to be a jagged silver serpent fang hanging from each ear. Finally, he noticed the pure black cyclinder held to the mans back with thin, almost un-noticeable grey cords...a pack of sorts.   
  
Erick had just finished drinking in the appearance of the strange man when images of that same figure holding a multitude of weapons, changing slightly each time as if each tool brought an un-noticed change. He noticed the image of the man growing to a large muscular size, hefting an axe easily in both hands, then molding down to a more sleek looking version, two curved blades weilded as a serpent would his own fangs. That image faded away to one of the man spinning a strange polearm around his spikey hair, his care-free expression not befitting to his overall appearance. That image metled away, forming into one of the same man, a black cloak draped over his shoulders, silver bands around the neck, wrists, and end of the cloth. He held a staff in his right hand, firmly, almost so firmly so that it looked like he would not live without it. Erick hated those serpent eyes of this form of the man...they held to much arrogance and knowledge, like he knew things that others could not dream of knowing. The imaging seemed to feel his thoughts, and shifted to a picture of the man, more like the original image of the unarmed version, though he held a long, wide bladed weapon in both hands. The sword seemed to fit, but not entirely so. Finally, the man was holding a single handed blade at his side, his serpent like gaze more befitting now, a look of cold death, a look like he wanted nothing to do with anyone set behind his gaze. The wry smirk on his lips though, made him more friendly in appearance. This seemed perfect to Erick. And, shortly after that thought, his vision was once again blinded with light, this time a gentle golden light that seemed to make him tired...so tired, that he felt himself slipping away from reality itself...into something that he could not quite put his finger on. 


	3. The True Beggining

USER ACCOUNT: Xreser  
  
PLAYER: Xreser  
  
His vision was nothing but golden light, the light of creation, the light that gave his lifeless body so new to the world that walking felt strange, breath. A calm voice wispered into his ear, "I go to Morganna...", the remainder of the words so soft and melodic that he completely forgot where he was. All until a women with an upturned nose and an arrogance so thick about her that one could see it drip off if they looked close enough, rose he voice in protest, "Newbies are always blocking my way...tch...don't even know the name Cima" She rambled on for a few moments about how her name was the most widely known name, and that some guys named the Decendents of Fianna were nothing to her power. Xreser toned her out, his blank stare set upon a single grey brick in a nearby building. "Are you still here?", Cima barked harshly, causing Xreser to snap back into existance. He replyed simply, "No? I don't beleive so..", causing the woman to become nothing but reddened anger that stalked away, her spear held tightly in front of her. Raising an eyebrow, Xreser sighed and took a few uneasy steps forward, not realizing he was holding a rather plane looking sword. Its blade was basically a broadsword, nothing special at all about it. In fact, if one saw that, they would merely shrug and shake their head, mumbling about the downsides of being a newbie. As his questioning gaze moved from the blade, it found something more impressive...far more impressive. A golden ring floated above a gray circle of stone, the depths of the ring being a gently icey blue, almost luring Xreser to touch it. In fact, he just might do that.  
  
Just as he reached forward,a golden gauntlet smacked his hand down. Turning those steely eyes towards the intruder, Xreser felt almost breathless. Here, was a man in a gleaming silver breastplate, with matching gauntlets and boots, and long, golden hair, making him almost angelic. Not all of this man was golden though...the area not covered in golden mail on his body was a deep, forest green cloth with a golden hue to it, as was the sash that hung between his legs, and the scarf that covered his mouth and nose from view. The golden hue was created by uncountable gold runes that littered the surface of the cloth...and that was the same for his eyes. Though, the golden tint to the green on those pools seemed more un-natural. Perhaps it was because upon closer inspection that the golden hue inside of his eyes was actually line upon line of binary code.   
  
Moving past the mans appearance, he opened his mouth to speak, but the sight of his "attackers" weapon stopped him. A long shafted, almost ceremonial looking chinese spear with a crecent shaped blade, graced the unworthy blademaster's eyes. The green shaft, gilded with golden metal, was nothing compared to the enchanting blade of gold, with many more runes carved into its surface. The player tapped the golden cap on the end opposite of the blade on the brick walkway, wistling through his teeth as if the newbie's silence had offended him. "Newbies shouldn't be wondering into the Chaos Gate, especially ones as new as you...Xreser". The BladeMaster's questioning gaze of pure confusion caused the polearm wielding man to slide into a mock bow, "Atlas NynE, at your service". Xreser's eyes narrowed, and heat from the embarassment he had just received had to be raising from the back of his neck. "Dan...", he began, but a golden hand covered in metal silenced him. "Atlas NynE I said...", came his friends growling voice, followed by, "Dont ever use my real name here, got that?" Xreser nodded, and backed away slowly, asking as if he expected to be smacked after saying so, "Why not?". Atlas slapped his forehead and motioned for Xreser to follow him.   
  
The trail the LongArm took him on wasn't that long, but it seemed out of the way of most of the town, which seemed to be based around a single river running through the middle. Xreser caught a sign reading, "Mac Anu" a short while ago, but he saw nothing of it again. His eyes seemed mesmorized by the jade trail of vapor Atlas's weapon let off, almost naturally it seemed.   
  
When the pair reached their destination, Xreser spotted another one of those rotating rings that was held off the ground by some unseen force. "You dont use my real name here, because I dont want some morons showing up on my doorstep, asking for a...John Smith." Xreser raised his eyebrow, but allowed Atlas to continue, "Now...that aside, I'm going to take you to a world that wont be easy for you, but wont be so hard that you will die...this way, you will become stronger faster, and won't look like such a newbie" Xreser tried to retort, but Atlas pushed on, "I saw Cima berating you earlier...dont mind that one, she is perhaps one of the most self-centered players around...not to mention she has a serious inferiority complex." Xreser merely nodded in agreement, but Atlas smirked and said cooley, "I'm not saying she couldn't beat your ass around this entire world, because she could...", his friends glare made him laugh for a moment, but he continued on once more as if nothing happened, "But its ok...nothing will happen while I'm with you. Now, lets hurry up, because after this Field I'm going to show you what that disc I gave you is all about."  
  
Placing his armored golden palm into the icey blue depths of the ring, Atlas closed his eyes, mumbling a few random words. When he was done, that golden light burst into Xreser's vision, this time, set off by three golden rings which surrounded him...making him so comfortable, that he closed his eyes, expecting to sleep for eternity. 


	4. The First Battle

That golden light pulled him through a tunnel, a fient wooshing sound sliding past his ears as the smell of dewey grass filled his olfactory senses. Now, as the warmth of that golden light left him, Xreser could swear he felt a longing for it as a homeless man would his bottle. The grassy Earth filled his vision...his companions voice lingering slightly above his head, "Still new to the Gating..." There was a kindness to his voice, and if Xreser would have looked up, he would have seen a grin that graced the mans golden features. "After awhile, the feeling of Rebirth slips away, no matter how much one wants it not too...Now...stand up, I'm going to explain the basics to you.."   
  
Xreser followed his comrad's order, and stood on shakey legs, his stone hued eyes lifting up from the Earth. Surprisingly, his weapon was still in his hand, the blade gleaming brightly in the digital sunlight. Tapping the end cap of his spear into the ground, Atlas leaned against the shaft of the weapon, his calm, soothing voice carrying across the landscape, "Ok..if you now realize, you have knowledge of how to use that sword better then you could hope for in real life, as well as maybe one or two other skills which only you will know." Xreser nodded, understanding what his friend was speaking off. Grasping the hilt of his weapon tighter, he toned out the remainder of Atlas's speech, eager to just move onto the fighting.   
  
Whistling through his teeth, Atlas knuckles the back of Xreser's neck, his voice sounding slightly irked, "Fine, lets go then newbie.." And so they did.  
  
The field was relativly empty, the occasional grunt of an unseen monster greating their ears. Even the AI of this game seemed to be wary of the golden LongArm...though more then once a goblin would find himself sliced in half by a cresent bladed spear when they found Xreser wandering off. It wasn't until they came into the sight of a one story building made of crumbled stone that Atlas stopped and motioned for Xreser to step in. "I'll follow behind you...but I'm not helping you until you absolutely need it" Xreser turned around quickly to face his comrad in arms, but only heard the fient rustling of cloth that signified the disappearance of Atlas. Sighing, the newbie BladeMaster stepped part two brightly lit tourches and into the dank building.  
  
The dungeon was dripping with years of moldy precipitation, cobwebs glistening like crystal in every corner. The entrance chamber was completely bare, save for the moldy rug folded out in front of him. Shaking his head to move strands of ebony hair from his cold eyes, he entered the northern most chamber.  
  
Again, it was as drab as the first, though at least this had light, provided by a hovering circle with a multiude of runes surrounding its circumfrence. Xreser thought it wise to just move on to the next northern exit, not noticing that the golden circle had started spinning above the ground, etheral figures of a pair of large pink fish that swam in place in the open air, and a trio of daggar wielding goblins. He didn't notice until an unpassable iron gate fell in front of his exit, causing him to turn around.  
  
A second sooner, and the spiney head of the first fish would have gored the newbie player. Un-noticed that split second before was a fan of green vapor that sliced the fish into nothing but data, allowing Xreser time to turn about to face his attackers.   
  
The broadsword swung down to block a rusted daggar, a second of the almost useless weapon's clanging off his leg armor, allowing the BladeMaster to stab down through the beast's skull, the edge tearing down its spine. Before the tip of the sword reached the ground, the creature disappeared into nothing but data, leaving the hapless player open for a merciless headbut from the second fish, sending his unarmored back into the iron grating of the exit gate. A groan escaped his pale lips, a sound that mingled with the swishing of air as his weapon searched for its pink skinned target, the fish contorting only to only be nicked by an attack that normally would have gored it.   
  
His armored knee sent a goblin to the ground in spasms of pain, his only armored elbow smashing the head of the last of the warty creatures, causing it stumble about as if drunk. Again, the fish struck, slamming the warrior into the same iron grating. His vision now marred by white spots, Xreser slumped to a knee, his blade sliding between the bars of the gate, the only thing keeping it from sliding through being the cross hatch at the end of the sword, though Xreser did not know this. Laying his head back against the cold stone, he held his armored arm up to block another ram, the force of the blow against the armor knocking the creature senseless for a moment. Xreser lunged forward right then, grasping the tail fin of the spinning beast, pulling it to the ground so that his pummeling fists could find their home in the monsters skull. After what seemed like an hour of unarmed beating, the BladeMaster was pulled back by the pair of goblins, rusty daggar sliding through the plates of his the armor covering certain points of his body. He cried out as the rusted weapons sank into his flesh, causing the mishappened creatures to cackle with malice. They didn't see the trail of green cloth that was the end of Atlas' scarf dart behind them to fling the BladeMaster's sword into his hand.  
  
Not knowing where the weapon came from, or how it got there, Xreser sank its tip into the left goblins face, slicing up through its skull a second later. The second beast's torso fell to its knees as its head slid from its neck.   
  
Xreser fell to his knee's, his blade sheathed underneath that ebony cylinder that was strapped to his back, his breath escaping in harsh rasps. A sigh broke through his usual calm facade, only to be replaced once more. "Quite real...", was all he said, the simple words to himself. Standing on again, shakey legs, he moved slowly into the next room, un-aware of what lurked inside the dank corridors of the seemly harmless begginer level. 


	5. The Data Flag Technique

Xreser metallic boots made little sound on the stone floor, which would have surprised him if he had been paying more attention. That last fight had taken alot out of him, and he really hoped there would be no more encounters such as that for a while, at least until he could get his strength back up. The BladeMaster had even started cursing Atlas for leaving him alone in this place...he of course was clueless to his comrad's help in the past battle.   
  
His serpent like eyes were so clouded by his own "troubles" and thoughts, that Xreser had missed the sudden appearance of another player, which, if he was more of a veteran, would have been strange, for players can not just warp inside a dungeon.  
  
The other player was obviously differant, for the lone fact that its appearance was asexual...no difining marks on its body to give it away as either sex. Even its face was no help, seeing as how it was covered in an ebony mask that was a cruel mockery of a demon. THe ebony masked figure was clothed in shining, black vinal leather that seemed to shift about its body with a free will of its own, ending only when it met the beggining of the players raven colored gauntlets, the metal of the hand armor seeming to absorb all light. It wasnt until this player slid across the ground on its side to sweep Xreser to his feet that the BladeMaster came to his senses.  
  
His head thudding against the stone floor so hard that he would swear he felt his brain jar inside his skull, Xreser continued to slide until he was slumped against the furthermost wall from where he was standing. As he tried to come to his feet, a heinous laugh filled the air, the figure suddenly in front of the newbie BladeMaster. "Impossible...", Xreser thought, even his the voice in his head that was his thoughts sounding groggy from the attack, "...when I last blinked, he was on the other side of the room.."   
  
Before the player could strike again, Xreser could hear a wooshing sound, a loud thud, a muffled groan, and the sound of leather scraping against the floor. Turning his flickering gaze to a golden figure, Xreser smiled with hope...his friend had came. Not that he doubted it, but when one is thrown full force across a room to land against a stone wall, one starts to doubt most things in life.  
  
"You alright, newbie..", came a shockingly hard voice from his comrad. Xreser could barely see that Atlas was standing with his spear held out in front of him in a strange stance, but that was all. Nodding wearily, he replied, "I'll be fine with some rest..." He thought that closing his eyes was fine, but Atlas' steeled voice came once more, "Stand up! Dont close your damn eyes, you moron...hurry...he's standing once more"   
  
Groaning as he stood, Xreser used the nearby wall as a prop, his blade still firmly sheathed behind him. That was good...at least he could help by dieing. Sighing, he said through a sigh, "How am I going to help here..." Atlas didn't turn his head, his golden hued gaze of ivy green set on the figure that was slowly standing, "You can help by not being killed. I dont think I want you to experiance something such as that on your birthday" And with that, he charged.  
  
Atlas moved as a golden angel through the air, the green cloth of his scarf trailing behind his head, the two ends almost reaching his ankles. That same golden light that imminated from him seemed to shine brighter now as he flew through the air, spear spinning above his head. Atlas landed in what seemed like a perfect distance away from the other, the shaft of his weapon slamming into his opponents neck to send the other back to his knee's.   
  
The golden LongArm seemed to dance as he fought, stepping about in a rythmatic fasion, a stab when it was available, a slash when it was needed. The other player didn't seemed to be able to do anything, until three ebony claws slid out from the top of the gauntlet to block an overhead swing from Atlas, stabbing his left hand down across the shaft of the spear to pin it into the ground. His free hand came up to stab Atlas in the ribs, but was caught in a vice like hold between the golden warriors bicep and the side of his torso.   
  
The pair stood there in that lock for what seemed like days, until finally they realeased each other and leapt back, Atlas landing gracefully on his feet, whereas the other play landed awkwardly on both feet and hands. It wasnt until the ebony leathered player contorted into a circle shape, the claws of its gauntlets making some sort of bladed ring, that Atlas saw the attack. Launching from the ground, the spinning circle of Black Death came down upon Atlas, sending the golden warrior across the room in a surge of agony. The wall topped Atlas' flight, giving him a surface to push off of for a follow up attack.  
  
Placing both golden armored feet onto the wall, Atlas launched himself forward, performing his own circular spin in the air to bring the blade of his chinese like spear upon the other, who was just now standing normal again. Twin claws came up to block the overheard attack, but were useless against the smoldering green rune that activated into a spell...  
  
Atlas disappeared for the moment as uncountable leaves rained from the sky to litter the floor in piles, a slight wind picking up around the room. With the ebony TwinBlade confused by the strange attack, the spell went off without a hitch. The wind shifted from a gentle breeze to a gale of thunderous rage, the leaves being grabbed from the ground and thrown about inside of the gale's "being". A muffled cry rose from the growling of the gale as razor edged leaves tore through vinal leather, slicing open the flesh underneath...plastering the ground with purple life blood. The gale lasted for a minute of so, finally dieing off to reveal the vinal covered warrior floating in the air, each arm hanging limply at its side.  
  
Appearing once more, Atlas still help his spear in front of him, as if expecting the other to get up after such an attack. Xreser called out through a satisfied grin, "Great job! Showed that dick who..." Atlas turned to glare at Xreser just as the warrior thudded to the ground, only for a moment...for he was then on his hands and feet, contorting for that spinning circle of death once more. Atlas turned just in time to be knocked against the ground, a releantless barrage of spinning claws sliding off his golden armor. Even that mystic looking covering would break in a few seconds...  
  
Charging forward, Xreser slashed down the spinning circle, his blade creating a wave of sparks, though doing its purpose to through the cyclone of certain doom from Atlas. Cursing, the golden warrior sweeped his comrad to the ground, just as the ebony TwinBlade kicked off the ground to torpedo the helpless BladeMaster, claws extended in front of him. Xreser could even feel the wind of the attack pass over his face, and was grateful to be thudding against the hard stone as opposed to being skewered on those claws. A rustling of cloth signified that Atlas had lept over his back, and the grotestque tearing of flesh signaled that he had suceeding in felling the other with a slash down its back.  
  
Xreser stood once more, to find his comrad still in his battle stance, the leathered TwinBlade only a mere shadow on the ground. It was impossible that it was still alive...was it? Xreser's question was answered as the player spun on its left palm, its claws tearing across Atlas's shin, though it did not halt the astounding technique the golden warrior was calling down... Stabbing the blade of his spear into the stone, Atlas called down the words, "Data Flag", and was suddenly bathed in a green light, golden binary code flowing within the green vapor. The TwinBlade hissed inhumanly as it awaited the attack...and seemed shocked when only Atlas appeared as the light died away. It also seemed shocked when Atlas charged forward once more, the blade of his spear stabbing into his ribcage.   
  
"Why did he call down a technique if all he did was stab his enemy...", asked Xreser to himself, not noticing the fient shifting of the air behind the TwinBlade. The Data Flag, in fact, was more dangerous then first appeared. And as the second, and true Atlas, appeared behind the TwinBlade, to stab through its back, the end of his golden bladed spear coming up through his targets gut, the technique was revealed. Using editing of binary code...so many lines that it would be impossible without the aid of some program of object, the user would copy their form, as well as data for a plan of attack, so that the "cloned" copy would seem as the real player, attacking in a set pattern while the true player would surprise their target from behind. And with a blade in his ribcage, and a blade coming up through his gut, the TwinBlade was through. Even more so when the true Atlas sliced his cresent bladed weapon up through the TwinBlades torso, neck, and head. Spinning his spear to a casual position, Atlas watched as his enemy collapsed in halves on the ground, fading away moments later. As soon as the TwinBlade disappeared, the Data Flagged Atlas faded into the air, becomming nothing more then green vapor.  
  
Xreser was speechless at the moment, not knowing to be impressed at his comrad's power, or frightened...but a wry smirk from Atlas shot the latter choice down. "I beleive I have some things to explain to you...do I not, BladeMaster?" 


	6. The Vanguard of Twilight

"It seems I have some questions to answer..."  
  
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Xreser frowned at the bluntness of Atlas' words, but merely ran his unarmored hand through his raven hued hair, the strands he was pushing away falling right back into place. Atlas cleared his throat and went on..., "Well...upon first glance, one just might see me as a high level character that rivals the Decendents of Fianna for power...and it is true..while I was legit, I was known as Atlas of the Azure Earth", clearing his throat, he thought for one more moment, "That lasted for about a week, so thats why you wont hear much about me in that period unless you talk to the veterans, which are scarce these days. After awhile, I was tired of the same old routine...we thought of ourselves as administration, when we were not. Not only that, but we all had differant views. I beleived we could only fight the evil known as Humanity in "The World" by fighting fire with fire, meaning, hacked for hacked. Balmung grossly disagree'd, calling that the administrations job. Well...", he motions to himself, "Its easy to see what path I chose, huh?"  
  
Frowning still, Xreser knuckled a crick in his neck, and said flat out, "That didn't answer why I was just booted across an entire room..." Atlas waves his hand to stop Xreser, and yet again, continued on. "I wasnt done...Ok, as you can see...I chose to go with the fire fighting fire route, while Balmung and Orca went their seperate ways from me. I haven't seen or spoken with them in a long, long time, but thats beside's the point. When I was known as Atlas NynE, the White Hack, my popularity began to grow among certain circles. While in others, it went down" Atlas leaned against his spear, his eyes moving as if searching the sky which was not visable through the cieling, and continued speaking, "The most fearsome of these groups that I fell into disfavor with was the one known as the "Legacy of Twilight", a group who not many know, and even those who have heard of them couldn't beleive that they were the ones that realeased Pluto's Kiss. It is strange though, that even the admin can't see through their false covering, 'The Aventgarden du Dammerung..', translated into the 'Vanguard of Twilight'. On the front, they appear to be a law abidding guild that helps 'The World' with its many problems...when it is the 'Vanguard' that causes them. I, as well as a few others, know of this, which is why we are attacked almost every time we enter a field. I am willing to bet my spear that the reason you were attacked is because one of the 'Vanguard' saw you with me in Mac Anu"   
  
Xreser sighed deeply, his steely eyes shifting to the ground. "So I was made a target because I am friends with you?" Atlas nodded slightly, then shook his head with a jovial grin, "Do not worry, young BladeMaster. I knew something like this would probly happen, which is why I gave you that disc...remember?" Xreser nodded, and replied slowly, "What exactly does it do..." Spinning his spear behind his back, the green vapor trail still passing through the air wherever the blade went, Atlas started towards the way the pair came from, "Follow me back outside, then we will talk more about this.."  
  
  
  
It didn't take all that long for the golden warrior and his shadowy companion to leave the dungeon, nor did it take long for two halves of the TwinBlade to raise from the ground, fully formed into a whole being once more. Standing up, the one known as Valkriss cracked his shoulder blades, shifting the mask on his face to a comfortable position. He seemed to be waiting for someone, but not just anyone. His rasping breathing hissed through the air, those claws from his gauntlets long since retracted. He cursed that golden warrior in his head...cursed him a many times over. Valkriss was not one to be beaten...especially not by some player who thought he was above the 'Vanguard'. No one was...not even the lord of Twilight himself, Clima Hantrue. Well, maybe Lord Clima was, but that was because he was the leader of the 'Vanguard'. As a matter of fact, it was Clima who Valkriss was waiting for.  
  
"I see Atlas has shown you how weak you truely are, Assassin...", came a voice that rumbled like thunder echoing across a mountain range. Its owner was a man larger then the biggest HeavyAxe player, though this one was all muscle. His armor, a brown so dark it almost appeared black, was gleaming darkly, if possible, in the light let off by the torches. Gilded goldwork decorated the armor in places, swirling into strange patterns. Blood red gemstones were set into the tops of the gauntlets, the tops of the armor covering his shins, edge of the armor covering his toes, his chest, and the most precisely cut on set into his belt. Stepping further into the light of the torches, more of the man was revealed. His breastplate didn't end at his neck, it merely continued up to round over his mouth and nose, even though the one known as Clima had a helment on that covered the same places. The helment was actually the strangest part of the man, for its shape and design made him appear supernatural, not to mention the glowing yellow eyes from the only holes in the head covering didn't help to go against that assumption. Now, even more of those stones decorated his armor, a crimson pair on the 'V' shaped piece of metal between ivory horns. "Lord Clima...", was all Valkriss said, the titan of a player in front of him pulling a cloak, a slightly lighter shade of brown then his armor, about his body to cover the crimson stones. Even the cloak had a trim of golden designs. This character just seemed to..."wealthy", or "supernatural" to be real. Then again, he was the leader of the 'Vanguard'.   
  
"Do not worry Assassin...you will not be punished today, seeing as how you came here of your own free will. Had it been an order by myself..." Clima then pushed the left side of his cloak back with his heavily armored right hand, to reveal a sword to unreal to be....well, real, grasped tightly in his left hand. The hilt was long enough for the sword to be called a two handed weapon, though Clima hefted it as easily as a fencer would his whiplike rapier. All of the hilt was pure golden, save for the grip, which was a leather the color of the mans cloak. More crimson gemstones were set into the crosshatch of the hilt, which was designed to look like fangs of sorts, though no beast ever had fangs that were that straight...that long. Then, there was the blade. A pale grey color, the bottem started out in a fat diamond shape, followed by a half diamon that led into the straight portion of the blade. Its edge seemed to slice even the air itself, and the many diverse runes running up the flat of the blade didn't make it look any less threatening. Valkriss groveled at the sight of the blade, his shaking hands showing his fear, "Yes master...I would never fail you in this..." The heavily armored man shifted slightly, his voice unmarred by the helment, "Let it be so, Assassin..." Clima turned about, and in another step, his cloak flapped up around him, enveloping the man just as he disappeared into the air.   
  
Valkriss did not know what had just happened, but he thought it wise to leave "The World" for awhile...Clima was as unpredictable as he was fierce. The one called 'Assassin', with still shaking hands, disappeared amidst three golden rings.  
  
Atlas and Xreser moved away from the second chaos gate in Mac Anu, the one Atlas had claimed had less traffic because it was to far away from the city itself. They had said scarcly a word since they left that dungeon, surprising, since Atlas had done alot of talking since meeting inside the game.   
  
The golden warrior suddenly stopped, abruptly turning about so that Xreser almost ran into him. Atlas hissed through his teeth and cursed, though his voice changed back to it's normal friendly tone when he spoke, "Alright...when we log out here in a few seconds, call me ok?" Xreser nodded, and Atlas held out his hand to shake Xreser's. Intricate golden armor met plane grey, Atlas's regal voice saying, "Here's my member adress. If you ever get into trouble again, then call me when you get back into town...or if you just want to go tear apart a dungeon" Xreser was about to ask how to do so, when the knowledge of how forced its way into his head. Shrugging, he watched as Atlas was enveloped in a trio of golden rings. Shortly after, Xreser followed suit. 


	7. The Change upon Xreser

Thoughts ran about Erick's mind as he slid back in his rolling computer chair, the back to it popping out of place for a moment. That damned chair always popped out of place, causing for a rather uncomfortable sit. He had other things to worry about at the moment then a damned chair.   
  
He picked up the phone, about as flat as an old CD player, its LCD display reading its welcome message. Holding it to the right side of his head, he spoke into the reciever, "Daniel." A few seconds later, a fient ringing graced his ear's, followed by a gruff, "'Ello?" Erick sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, a joke the two had been doing for quite some time, until Daniel finally replied, "Whats up Erick..." A reply came quickly, "Nothing much, just calling you about that disc..."  
  
Clearing his throat as he always did before speaking in length, Daniel went on to say, "Well...that disc holds quite powerful stuff...and when you use it, you will be slightly out of the torrential mainstream gamers. You will find an unearned power inside of you, a new weapon, new armor...enough to protect you from the majority of the 'Vanguard'. But it edits data illegally, so every now and then, you will have administration players tailing you." "Administration tailing me? After one day? Thats just redic...", Erick tried to say, but Daniel shut him off. "Do not worry...As long as you don't do anything to harm the mainstream players, then tailing is the most they will do. Now, just put the disc into the last drive...yes, the same one as the game" Erick frowned, yet did as he was told. After a few seconds, the black screen started fading into many diverse colors, finally ending back on the black screen with a silver symbol in the middle, the symbol that ran underneath his eyes, the serpent fang in the middle. "There...it should be done. When you next log in, you will find some changes...though....dont try any of the techniques in your mind that begin with Data. Wait until tommorow for that, so you will be at least used to the program." Waiting to make sure Daniel was done, Erick spoke once more, "What exactly did I just do..." A loud, exasperated sigh tore through Daniel's receiver as he began to speak once more, "You have edited your character data. Your armor and weapon will be highly upgraded, to a state that most legit players would never dream of. Don't worry, newbie, it's perfectly safe" "Stop f-cking calling me a newbie..." "You are...arn't you?" Silence was struck on both lines, the narrowing eyed Erick merely speaking, "Alright then, I'm gonna go back in then...you coming?" Atlas took a moment to think, then said, "I should..don't want you killing yourself. Meet me at the same Chaos Gate...the one outside of the main city" As Erick agree'd, they both hung up. He still could not help but wonder if using that disc was such a good idea. For one, Atlas made it sound so gravely importent and hard to use inside the game, but once in the real world, it was moronically simple. Sighing, he slid the headset back onto the still gloved hands, a golden light flooding into his eyes.  
  
Midway through the logging in process, the golden light changed to a dull gray, showing Xreser in all his splender. Those serpent like eyes widened as a grin spread across his face, abilities he didn't beleive attainable in his grasp. That grin flashed, as did the entire image of the BladeMaster. Suddenly, the change that would ratify Xreser's life forever set into motion.  
  
The grey armor on his body seemed to melt away, giving life to a more intricate, gleaming silver, its many layers carved with runes that Daniel swore he had seen before. The gleaming armor seemed to shine with a life of its own, causing Xreser to look at himself in amazement, holding up his unarmored hand to glance at the black cloth. Even the cloth covering his torso and left arm had changed. Now, a silvery hue seemed to flow forth from the many lines of stitched runes, that were so small, they only made the ebony cloth seem to shimmer with that unattainable color.   
  
"Show me the weapon...", came a thought in Daniel's head. No sooner had that thought become complete, did Xreser reach behind himself, pulling his once rather bland blade free. Now, a one handed long sword was held firmly in an ebony clothed grasp, the silvery cross hatch resembling the same fangs that hung from his ear lobes. But, that was nothing compared to the blade that was so beautiful, that one may feel lost from peering into it's surface. The polished metal seemed to breath in light, causing the runes running up the flat of the blade to pulsate with an energy of their own, though something seemed not entirely right. Then, Daniel saw that the edge on each side of the blade was a deep black, so dark, that the light radiating from the polished metal of the blade seemed to be absorbed. And that dark energy created a trail of vapor, a trail as dark as the energy itself, when the BladeMaster slashed it aside. And with the first slash, the final change came into place.   
  
The runes running up the flat of the blade suddenly became a deep black, making the now complete Xreser seem more menacing then before. Now, with a character able of defending himself, Erick found himself grinning at what he would do to Cima if she mouthed off. Xreser faded away, that grey light coming back one more to drag his persona into "The World", where, even with this upgraded character, a new challenge tougher then the rest lay. 


	8. The TwinBlade and WaveMaster

"I feel like making someone eat a waffle!", came the voice behind Xreser, which was probly why he turned around. "Waffle waffle waffle!" A mere raise of a raven hued eyebrow was all that answered the strange player. "And a hot plate...", came the...reply? of the other.  
  
Xreser simply shook his head, and mumbled something about "idiots", when the player flipped over his back, using his shoulders as a prop for the jump. He was obviously a TwinBlade, though Xreser could not explain why he knew such information. "Hey hey hey...I don't think I deserved that!" Narrowing his eyes in annoyance, the BladeMaster placed a firm hand on the players shoulder, and shoved him aside. But, to Xreser's surpirse, a deep black daggar, strangely shaped and decorated, was placed into the side of his neck. "Want to eat a waffle?"   
  
BladeMaster or not, Xreser was caught, caught so awkwardly, that if he moved, he was sure his head would be sliced from his body. "'Ey...Shadow, leave the man alone...". The voice was almost gruff sounding, a hint of a commanding tone that caused the TwinBlade to lower his daggar. Finally, as Xreser turned to face his would be attacker, he got his first real sight of him.   
  
He wasn't tall, but wasn't short either, just...there. And every muscle that shown through his tight black clothing, was toned for precise movements, whereas bulky muscles would only hinder him. Shadow, or that was what the voice called him, looked rather like a ninja to Xreser, then anything else, what with the forearm guards made of darkened silver, as well as the guards on his shins, knees, and elbows. And, as if he had taken a page from Atlas, had all but above his eyes covered with cloth, Shadows being...well, a shadowy black. The daggars were no where to be seen.  
  
"Man...whatever...", spoke Shadow with disappointment so apparent, it was practically dripping from his mouth. Shuffling his feet along the ground, the TwinBlade moved against a wall near the widely used Chaos Gate, his crimson eyes darting to wall opposite of him. And there, another player leaned.  
  
The only thing signifying the other player as a WaveMaster, was his staff like weapon, which wasn't all that revealing in the first place, for half of the weapon was a straight, double edged blade. It was too short to be a LongArm's weapon. Again, Xreser could not explain how he knew that.   
  
No robes decorated this WaveMaster, who was covered in all black clothing, the same color as his hair. Light seemed to disappear around this one, for his clothing was that dark...  
  
With folded arms over his studded leather shirt, he looked completely uncaring, the tail of his trenchcoat flapping in a virtual breeze. The coat itself, was a thing to make most people jealous. Made from fine black leather, it gave as much to defense, as it did to appearance, the cuffs and tail of the coat being banded silver, as was the laces on his boots. And that glance from his silvery eyes, Xreser could tell why Shadow obeyed. The WaveMaster obviously held some sort of power, that no one else dared attempt to use. But, that look disappeared when a golden light bathed the Chaos Gate, and a shining gold figure stepped forth from it.  
  
"Shadow? Outlaw? Haven't seen you two in quite a long time...", came the cool, uncaring voice of Atlas. Outlaw bowed slightly in respect, answering just as uncaring, "We've been...busy. Admin tracked us down the other day, and almost deleted or charactrs. Took us to long to make them, to let moronic power-hungry corporate slaves take them away" Atlas laughed slightly, and clapped Outlaw on the shoulder, a slight wince in the WaveMaster's face saying that if anyone else did that, they would die on the spot. Atlas merely grinned and glanced about, his voice unmarred by the cloth covering his mouth, "Has Xreser here been giving you any trouble? He might be arrogant at first appearance...he just got the Disc Installed". Shadow almost fell from the wall, "This was the friend you were talking about! He's so fucking slow!", then he proceeded to smack his forehead, "Man...we get stuck with..."   
  
"That's enough Shadow...", said Outlaw through grated teeth, his silvery eyes lingering on Atlas for his reaction. But, the Golden Warrior merely grinned once more, shaking his head, "Like it or not, Xreser installed the disc...And you should know from first hand experiance, Shadow, that its abilities don't all appear that quickly. Just the other day you finally used the Data Flag..." Xreser was sure Shadow wanted to say something, but he held his silence. "Ok, with that out of the way...I was talking to a source in Fort Ouph about the Vanguard, and apparently, a few of their men are in Blasted False Nothingness" Outlaw finally moved from the wall, "Atlas...you know Shadow and myself have nothing against the Vanguard...as long as they don't fuck with us, then we wont fuck with them" Atlas's glare cut off Outlaw, his voice raising almost to a yell, "Well, fine then, OUTLAW. Next time you want help with the administration, find somebody else."   
  
Outlaw sighed, waving his free hand in the air, and digging the end of his weapon into the ground before saying, "Jeezus...fine, we'll come with you two today, but you can't expect us to help that much. I personally don't want the Vanguard messing with me, on top of the Admin" Atlas mumbled something about "whatever", and moved to the Chaos Gate. And as he placed his palm into the shimmering blue surface, and spoke the words, the party faded away amidst their own perspective golden rings. 


End file.
